Shabaz Masoud walked out of Monte Carlo with a belt, but the celebration felt forced, like everyone was clapping because that’s what you’re supposed to do. The truth is ugly. After all the hype, all the waiting, all the noise, he still didn’t look like a man who scares anyone at world level.
After more than a year away from the ring, Masoud scraped past Peter McGrail over twelve edgy rounds to lift the vacant EBU European super bantamweight title. Prince Albert sat ringside. Eddie Hearn sat close by. The room reeked of money. The fight reeked of caution. McGrail came out sharp, busy, snapping the jab and making Masoud look uncomfortable early. Masoud stayed upright, stayed patient, stayed boring. The judges went 116-111, 115-112, 114-113. Tight. Tidy. Forgettable.
“I’ve got big plans,” Masoud said afterward. “I’m struggling making Super Bantamweight and I don’t mind moving up for a world title. There’s a British world champion at the weight above, Nick Ball. That’s the fight I want.”
Big words after a small kind of win. Ball would eat this version of Masoud alive.
McGrail never rolled over. He kept the pressure on late and forced Masoud to work for every inch. But this was not dominance. This was survival with a ribbon tied around it. Masoud did just enough to keep control on paper while never once taking the soul out of the fight.
This is the problem. He wins. But he doesn’t break. And when you start talking about world titles, people expect you to take something from a man. Not just points.
Walker Turns McCormack Inside Out While The Rest Falls Apart
Sean “The Public Nuisance” McComb broke Hugo Micallef in front of his own crowd like it was personal. Three knockdowns. Eight rounds. No romance in it. Just damage and silence.
Then Conah Walker tore the roof off Pat McCormack’s career. McCormack was ahead. Anyone with eyes could see it. Then Walker snapped in the twelfth. Drove him through the ropes. Punched him until the ref saved him. Olympic shine gone in sixty seconds. Brutal sport.
Johnny Fisher nearly got sent into the dark early against Ivan Balaz. Dropped. Wobbled. Hanging on like his life depended on it. Then the switch flipped. By the fourth, Balaz was falling in every direction and the ref was done watching him get punished.
In the co-main, Elif Nur Turhan walked Beatriz Ferreira down like a tax collector. Down early. Broken late. Ref climbed in during the fifth and nobody complained. New IBF world champion. Ferreira knew she had been beaten the hard way.
MONTE-CARLO SHOWDOWN VI FIGHT NIGHT RESULTS
Shabaz Masoud UD PTS Peter McGrail
EBU European Super Bantamweight Championship
Elif Nur Turhan TKO R5 Beatriz Ferriera
IBF World Lightweight Championship
Johnny Fisher KO R4 Ivan Balaz
Heavyweight Contest
Conah Walker KO R12 Pat McCormack
WBA International & IBF Inter-Continental Welterweight Titles
Sean McComb TKO R8 Hugo Micallef
IBF European Super-Lightweight Championship